Whirlpool Launches New ‘Maytag Man’ Brand Campaign

Maytag, a division of Whirlpool corporation has announced the launch of a new integrated marketing campaign introducing the new face of the brand—the Maytag Man. A transformation of the widely known and iconic Maytag Repairman, the Maytag Man now has a brand new role as the machine, according to the company, which noted that in new creative he will greet America as a Maytag appliance, the human embodiment of the brand’s core values of reliability, durability and power.

“No longer is our brand character sitting idle, lamenting his boredom due to Maytag brand’s legendary inability to breakdown,” said William Beck, senior director of Whirlpool, Maytag, Value Brands & Channel Marketing. “The Maytag Man is now the actual machine, symbolizing the reliability, durability and power that Maytag appliances are known for.”

The company explained that, while the iconic blue suit and hat remain, the Maytag Man has an entirely new purpose. He is the machine – nestled in the kitchen baking a turkey, potatoes and mini cupcakes as a large-capacity double oven. He is tucked under the counter, cutting through grease as a Maytag Jetclean dishwasher with PowerBlast cycle.

“The Maytag Man is a creative interpretation of our motto, ‘What’s Inside Matters,’ illustrating all the human and relatable virtues that exist inside appliances – performance, dependability, power,” said Beck. “We want to recognize and draw a connection to individuals who work with strength, resilience and persistence, just like our appliances, to get the job done.”

The company explained that the character will come to life through a series of videos that depict him as the machine, performing the duties that any dependable Maytag machine would to keep a household running smoothly. The videos portray the Maytag Man physically representing and speaking as the appliances — from holding a variety of foods and “running” in place as a refrigerator to scrubbing dirty dishes, crouched where a dishwasher would typically reside. The character’s matter-of-fact helpfulness, humorous quips and dependable, machine-like behavior aim to depict Maytag brand’s key attributes of reliability, durability and power, according to the company.

As part of the multi-million dollar campaign that will support current and new product launches for 2014 kitchen and laundry appliances, people across the country will be introduced to this new character in a variety of ways during the year. The Maytag Man will be featured in four national television ads airing March 3, and viewable now online on YouTube and maytag.com/maytag-man/. He was also promoted through interactive digital elements and support, that launched January 13th, and debuted a new Twitter presence, @TheMaytagMan – an online voice for the machine, the same week.

The Maytag Man will be popping up in select cities this winter and spring, interacting with fans via the brand’s Facebook page, and reaching stores nationwide in June 2014.

“We’re incredibly excited for the launch of the new Maytag marketing campaign centered around The Maytag Man. Our steam irons embody all of the brand attributes of Maytag which the marketing campaign will reinforce with tremendous impact,” said Evan Dash, CEO of StoreBound.

StoreBound secured the rights to design and market steam irons under the Maytag brand through a licensing agreement with Whirlpool Corporation.